IPO: Odessey and Oracle

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Screw Sgt. Pepper's; this album is nearly flawless.

― Sarah Pedal (call mr. lee), Thursday, 20 November 2003 18:41 (twenty-two years ago)

I agree that "Odessey & Oracle" is one of very few albums that are actually better than "Sgt. Pepper".

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 20 November 2003 18:43 (twenty-two years ago)

...that were released by English bands in the late sixties who played rock and roll or some form thereof.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 20 November 2003 18:44 (twenty-two years ago)

More or less all of the best albums ever were released by English bands who played rock and roll or some form thereof. And a quite large portion of those are from the 60s.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 20 November 2003 18:46 (twenty-two years ago)

The Piper At The Gates of Dawn, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, Evolution, and The Love Cycle (just to name a few) are also much better, imo.

What about the Tages, Geir?

― Sarah Pedal (call mr. lee), Thursday, 20 November 2003 18:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm going to incorporate Butcher's Tale into my upcoming English paper on All Quiet On The Western Front. Yay!

― Sarah Pedal (call mr. lee), Thursday, 20 November 2003 18:52 (twenty-two years ago)

What's "IPO"? "Impulsively Pick One"? OK, um .. shoot, I pick "Brief Candles"! But really, I love the whole thing to death. I saw that Blunstone/Argent reunion tour last year and I came pretty close to crying with joy. Blunstone's voice still sounds amazing.

Is that Love Cycle album that good? I've never heard it.

― Broheems (diamond), Thursday, 20 November 2003 19:14 (twenty-two years ago)

The Tages weren't really an album band, were they?

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 20 November 2003 19:17 (twenty-two years ago)

"In Praise Of," Broheems. And yes, The Love Cycle is that good.

― Sarah Pedal (call mr. lee), Thursday, 20 November 2003 19:18 (twenty-two years ago)

The Tages weren't really an album band, were they?

I wouldn't know, but who cares? They were fantastic.

― Sarah Pedal (call mr. lee), Thursday, 20 November 2003 19:18 (twenty-two years ago)

While I love those albums, "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" is a bit dragged down by Marriot's annoying vocal style. Way too much R&B there.

And "Piper...." has that annoying middle part with just noise rather than music.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 20 November 2003 19:19 (twenty-two years ago)

"This Will Be Our Year"

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 20 November 2003 19:52 (twenty-two years ago)

O&O is great, there's only one song on it I don't like (and I can't remember which one off the top of my head). I've got the Zombies box (Zombie Heaven) in my car right now, and I saw the "Zombies" (really Blunstone and Argent with session players) reunion tour last year too. Blunstone's voice still sounds great. "Care of Cell 44" and "A Rose for Emily" might be the best 2 songs to start an album ever.

― NA (Nick A.), Thursday, 20 November 2003 20:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Right on, Nick. The box set is one of the best musical investments I ever made. Colin's early solo stuff was fantastic, too.

― Sarah Pedal (call mr. lee), Thursday, 20 November 2003 20:10 (twenty-two years ago)

It wasn't just session dudes on that tour though - the bass player was Jim Rodford who was a long-time member of Argent, as well as playing on the first two Colin Blunstone solo albums!

The guitar player was definitely a session wanker, though (he's actually the brother of Ozzy Osbourne keyboardist Don Airey!)

― Broheems (diamond), Thursday, 20 November 2003 20:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Personally, I'll take "Begin Here" over "Odyssey & Oracle" any day (I treasure the box set, esp. BBC recordings). Playing along, I pick "Care of Cell 44".

― Kate Silver (Kate Silver), Thursday, 20 November 2003 20:26 (twenty-two years ago)

If i have to pick one, it'll be "Hung up on a dream", if only for that mellotron chord change before "A sweet confusion filled my mind", which is too lovely for words. The rest of hte song is damn-near perfect and has an ability to make me cry, for some reason.

― Rob M (Rob M), Thursday, 20 November 2003 20:31 (twenty-two years ago)

That guitar player was fucking annoying. Almost as bad as the 20-year-old, leather-pants-from-Hot-Topic-wearing guitarist I saw playing with Joan Jett.

― NA (Nick A.), Thursday, 20 November 2003 20:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Has anybody heard that Return of the Zombies reunion record they did back in '91? It was only released in Europe and people I talk to say it's hands down one of the worst albums of all time. So, of course, I'm dying to snag me a copy!

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Thursday, 20 November 2003 20:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Either "Care of Cell 44" or "Time of the Season".

"Friends of Mine" is a clunker. I prefer stuff like "Whenever You're Ready" and "She's Coming Home" to most of the songs on this album.

― David Gates of Delirium, Thursday, 20 November 2003 21:06 (twenty-two years ago)

IPO=International Pop Overthrow

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 20 November 2003 21:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm loving this album so much right now, I put it on almost every morning.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 20 November 2003 21:38 (twenty-two years ago)

"A Rose For Emily" is the best track anyway.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 20 November 2003 21:40 (twenty-two years ago)

"Odessey" is great. "Changes" is beautiful.

It's one of the LPs recorded around the same time as that Beatles record "Sgt. Pepper's" that are better than "Sgt P's." Not that "Sgt. Pep" is bad, but I don't know anyone who'd voluntarily listen to the thing. I don't know the man called Hongo, obviously.

Anyway, that list of LPs recorded '67-ish I at least like better than "Sgt.":

"Moby Grape"
"Forever Changes"
"Notorious Byrd Bros."
"Safe as Milk"
"Velvet Underground & Nico"

don't forget

"Clambake" by Presley

and "Who's Making Love" by Johnnie Taylor, on Stax. Like I'm going to sit down and listen to George Harrison droning on, and the little pot dealer singing show tunes inside Paul McCartney's head, when I can hear Johnnie Taylor sing "Woman across the River." I mean, come on.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 20 November 2003 22:45 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

'Odessey and Oracle' is one of my top 5 favourite records from the 60's, right alongside 'Pet Sounds' 'Forever Changes' 'Velvet Underground and Nico' and 'Buffalo Springfield'. I fell in love with it the second I heard it, especially "Care of Cell 44" and "Maybe After He's Gone" - simply breathtaking. But the album as a whole is one of the most cohesive. I have trouble listening to individual songs from it, since it works so well as a whole. It's a shame the Zombies couldn't go on making music like this - it could've been a new beginning for the group. At least we'll always have the music they did make.

― Alex Northrup, Sunday, 26 December 2004 01:40 (twenty-one years ago)

the two Zombies reunion albums I have--"As Far as I Can See" released this year, "New World" from '91--are simply awful MOR shit. Except for about two songs from the new one. I don't know, they wanted to be Prefab Sprout or something. Anyway, on a par with the fucking Doobie Bros. or something, truly unlistenable.

been debating whether "O&O" or Love's "Forever Changes" is the better album. Still can't decide--I think "FC" may be the one, seems a bit more closely observed, a bit sparer, a bit less in-the-ether. But I think I actually enjoy "O" as pure sound, pure pop, more than the Love album, and I think the first side of "Da Capo" is the best stuff Love did anyway.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Sunday, 26 December 2004 15:35 (twenty-one years ago)

five years pass...

What else is like "Odessey and Oracle"?

― Tolaca Luke (admrl), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 17:46 (fifteen years ago)

Besides the obvious stuff like Forever Changes, I mean

― Tolaca Luke (admrl), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 17:47 (fifteen years ago)

IPO=International Pop Overthrow
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, November 20, 2003 9:17 PM (6 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Geir needs to form this band NOW!

― Mark G, Wednesday, 11 August 2010 07:56 (fifteen years ago)

Adamrl - it's hard to beat O&O, but there's lots of stuff that you might like - try:

The Tokens - Intercourse
The Byrds - Notorious Byrd Brothers
Tiny Tim - God Bless Tiny Tim
The Four Seasons - Genuine Imitation Life Gazette
Yellow Balloon - Yellow Balloon

― village idiot (dog latin), Wednesday, 11 August 2010 09:06 (fifteen years ago)

Mark: International Pop Overthrow are already an album by Material Issue and an annual powerpop festival. That's enough for now. :)

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:10 (fifteen years ago)

A bit for Tolaca, Tages have been mentioned upthread, and their "Studio" album was just reissued on RPM: http://www.cherryred.co.uk/rpm/artists/tages.php

Absolutely excellent stuff in partly the same vein as late era Zombies.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:11 (fifteen years ago)

First Left Banke album
The Hollies Evolution
The Pretty Things SF Sorrow

in order of least to most rockin', I guess. If you are feeling truly twee and obscure then stuff like Blossom Toes, Apple, Kaleidoscope, Fairfield Parlour, etc, most of which are well represented on Brit psych comps.

― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:35 (fifteen years ago)

Notorious Byrd Bros. is amazing.

― Beach Pomade (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 11 August 2010 17:59 (fifteen years ago)

Sagittarius "Present Tense"

― glitter hands! glitter hands! razzle! dazzle! (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 11 August 2010 18:02 (fifteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.